Overheard@Biola

There is a new facebook group that is all the rage among Biola students. Overheard@Biola. Basically people post awkward quotes that they overhear while going about their day at Biola. The purpose is to find the most out of context quote possible.

For example:

Guy to girl in commons: "Do you need prayer? Because I could lay my hands on you"

Guys walking into a dorm: "Then we'll strip him down and beat him..."

Besides the annoying fact that most of the overheard statements turn into dirty jokes, this is an interesting concept. I pondered it awhile. What is overheard that comes out of my mouth while I am walking across campus or in line at the grocery store or having coffee with a friend at Starbucks? Do I speak with graciousness? Or do I string together thoughtless phases that disgrace the time spent uttering them?

A few weeks ago I watched The Two Towers, the second Lord of the Rings movie. In that movie Treebeard, who is an Ent, responds to Merry's urge to speed up the discussion of whether or not to go to war by saying:

"We never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say"

This statement communicates such a precious value of time and words. I have been thinking about the vernacular value I place on time and words. Do I value my words enough to speak only goods? Do I value time enough to only speak things I would not be embarrassed of if they showed up on Overheard@Biola?

People overhear things. Do you even realize what you are saying?